Good evening, all. It has been a really long time since I’ve written a diary for this series, and I’m happy to be back. I have to admit, I volunteered to write this diary before I even had a topic in mind, so I got a little panicky when I remembered (late in the week) that I’m up for this evening. I thought I’d just share one of my recent-ish favorite chili recipes with everybody tonight.
Temperatures are starting to drop here in Texas—not by that much, granted, but enough that I’m starting to think about cooler-weather comfort foods. Last Saturday was just beautifully cool (again, by Texas standards), so I got out of Houston and spent part of the day hiking (which is also what I’m doing today, because today is even cooler!). By the time I got back, I was really craving chili, so I made a big pot of it—half of which went to the fridge and half of which went to the freezer for some winter day when I don’t want to cook. Even though this is really “What Was for Dinner Last Saturday,” it’s technically WFD because I’m still eating leftovers.
First of all, I should say: I am not a chili purist. I know some people are, and that’s okay, but I have a variety of chili recipes—from bean to no-bean, from beef to meatless, and several other versions—that I love. When I was growing up, my mom made chili almost every week. And I hated chili night. My mom is from Indiana, and she made a version of chili that her mom passed down to her that has been called “Hoosier chili.” This recipe from Taste of Home is pretty close to what my mom made, and as you can see, it’s really more of a sweet tomato soup that includes ground beef, kidney beans, and elbow macaroni. Maybe you understand now why I dreaded chili night. I discovered that the chili was edible if I crushed up a lot of Ritz crackers and mixed them in, so that’s what I did every week. I thought this was what all chili was like. Fast-forward to when I was a teenager in the Boy Scouts. We went on a weekend camping trip, and our Scoutmaster made some chili in a big Dutch oven. When I got my bowl, I asked him why there wasn’t any macaroni in it, to which he incredulously asked what the hell I was talking about. He also didn’t take very kindly to my request for an entire sleeve of crackers. And that is how I discovered that chili actually isn’t garbage—just my mom’s chili (sorry, Mom).
I tell that story because this chili recipe I’ve been enamored with recently reminds me of that first bowl of “real” chili I had. This recipe, too, was kind of created for outdoor cooking—by Cowboy Kent Rollins, a YouTuber and one-time contestant on Chopped. I really enjoy his outdoor cooking videos, but this is the one and only recipe I’ve actually made for myself. I’ll embed the video, but here is a direct link to the recipe.
I follow the recipe pretty closely, with some very minor adjustments. Last weekend, I made a double batch—and if you’re going to do that, you need a really big pot. I used my big new Le Creuset Dutch oven—which I’ve named “La Grosse Berte”—and it was almost not big enough. It’s a pretty simple list of ingredients, though:
For a double batch, I used two medium yellow onions (chopped), about four pounds of ground beef (80/20), a mix of spices (2/3 cup chili powder, a teaspoon of ground cumin, four teaspoons of dried oregano, four teaspoons of smoked paprika, and two teaspoons of kosher salt...plus a teaspoon of garlic powder, which is not in the original recipe), an entire head of garlic (minced), two cans of kidney beans (drained), four cans of Rotel (drained), a 28-ounce can of tomato sauce, and a 7.5-ounce can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (chopped...adobo sauce and all). I don’t normally add cilantro to this, but I had cilantro in the fridge that I needed to use, so I added it at the end. For the ground beef, I recommend a coarser grind—HEB sells ground beef supposedly “for chili,” but the only difference is that it’s much coarser than regular ground beef, and it makes for a better texture in the end. Also, use whatever chili powder you want, but I find that I get better results when I use the kind that is just ground chili peppers (I like using ancho), rather than the mix of spices that is often sold as “chili powder.”
I mostly follow the recipe when it comes to the cooking part, as well, but I do make a few adjustments. I like to cook the ground beef and onions together and allow most of the liquid to evaporate before I go any further (which takes longer, but I think it’s worth it).
Then, I add the garlic and spices just long enough to toast and wake them up. Then, the rest of the ingredients.
Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour, and it’s ready! This will make 10 to 12 pretty generous portions.
I still do enjoy crackers in my chili, by the way. But Ritz has high-fructose corn syrup, which is the devil, so I typically go for oyster crackers. I also like to eat this with sour cream, cheese, and pickled sliced jalapeños.
How do you like your chili? What’s for dinner at your place tonight?